Dual Transition of Net Zero Carbon and Digital Transformation: Case Study of UK Transportation Sector

Abstract

The UK Government’s Building Information Modelling (BIM) mandate has encouraged the utilisation of BIM within the Transportation Sector (TS), with research demonstrating positive effects of BIM. However, BIM processes are incipient to TS project implementation across the UK. This paper is carried out to understand the current BIM usage within the UK’s TS and how BIM practises and workflows contribute towards the government’s NZC approach. We used research questions derived from the population, intervention, comparison and outcome (PICO) system and inclusion and exclusion criteria to screen irrelevant information from a Systematic Literature review with 18 pieces of literature. We identified six key drivers: carbon reduction and BIM, BIM in transportation design, BIM uptake and usage in transportation, BIM in transportation construction and Digital Twins and BIM. It was identified that, with the integration of the Carbon Calculator Tool into Civil 3D, structural and material data can be obtained and areas of Embodied Carbon hotspots can be identified to contribute to reduce overall carbon across a project, which requires further collaboration between software providers and industry leaders for further streamlining the process. A limitation of this research is the requirement for wider study of differing disciplines within the TS, more qualitative research and a lack of information regarding other Carbon Calculator Tools and how compatible they are with Civil 3D.